SALACROU (Armand). *The Stranger from Arras*, preceded by *A - Lot 255

SALACROU (Armand). *The Stranger from Arras*, preceded by *A Free Woman* and followed by *A Man Like Any Other*. Paris: Gallimard, NRF, 1946. In-12, 333 pp., publisher’s polychrome hardcover based on a design by Mario Prassinos, black covers adorned with large geometric mosaic patterns in blue, white, and mauve, spine decorated in the same style with a gilt title. A VERY ATTRACTIVE NRF HARDCOVER DESIGNED BY MARIO PRASSINOS, characteristic of the graphic experiments undertaken by Gallimard in the immediate postwar period. This edition brings together three works by Salacrou: *Une Femme libre*, *L'Inconnue d'Arras*, and *Un Homme comme les autres*. The institutional bibliography confirms this composition and the volume’s 333 pages. The standard 1946 print run consisted of 15 copies on Lafuma-Navarre pure-fiber vellum, including 10 numbered copies and 5 not for sale. In addition, in January 1946, 1,000 bound copies were printed based on Mario Prassinos’s design, of which 960 were numbered from 1 to 960 and 40 were not for sale, numbered from 961 to 1,000. ONE OF THE 960 NUMBERED COPIES BOUND ACCORDING TO MARIO PRASSINOS’ DESIGN, THIS ONE BEING NO. 134. This cardboard binding is the most sought-after format of this edition. A scholarly catalog entry describes it as the only NRF edition in cardboard binding, printed in a run of 1,000 copies numbered on alfa paper and bound according to Prassinos’s design. Mario Prassinos, a painter, illustrator, and decorator of Greek origin, has created a particularly striking design here: against a black background, a female silhouette is entirely constructed from bold geometric blocks of bright blue, white, and mauve; the spine repeats the motif in the form of large, stylized “S”s. A true artist’s hardcover edition, highly representative of the NRF aesthetic of the 1940s. A fine copy in its original publisher’s hardcover binding. Some scuffing and minor wear on the headbands, corners, and edges, with small superficial losses at the extremities; the cover design remains very fresh and vibrant. The interior is fresh overall.